Together Forever
by willgirl
Summary: A continuation of the Year in the Life Series. A turn of events changes Booth and Brennan's relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here's the first chapter of Together Forever, the fifth in the Year in the Life Series! I hope you enjoy this story as much as you have the previous four! Here's a short chapter to get you started.**

"So what are you doing tonight?" Angela said, flouncing into her office.

"What are you talking about Ange?" she replied.

"You and Booth. Please tell me you are doing something tonight." Angela said.

"Umm… well Parker has his baseball game.." she said, trailing off. She had no idea what Angela was talking about.

"It's your six-month anniversary!" Angela said exasperatingly. "How could you forget?"

"Why would I remember?" she replied.

"Because that's what couples do!" Angela said.

"Really?" she asked. "Because I understand the significance of a one-year anniversary, but six months seems a bit much."

"I am sure Booth is doing something." Angela said. "He is so cute about stuff like that."

"We have never had a six-month anniversary before, Angela." She said. "So how do you know he is cute about that?"

"It's just that.." Angela started. "Oh never mind, sweetie."

"Dr. Bones?" they heard Parker say. "Let's go!"

She grabbed her bag and headed out to the platform with Angela. Parker was jumping up and down in his baseball outfit.

"Come on, Dr. Bones!" Parker said. "I'm going to be late for practice!"

"Okay." She replied, coming towards them. She gave Parker a hug and stood up.

"Ready?" Booth said, nodding at her.

"Definitely." She replied. Ever since they had been split up, they had both been extremely careful about displays of affection at the lab.

"Parker?" he said. "Don't you have something to ask the team?"

"Oh, right." Parker replied. He ran over to Angela. "Angela, it's my baseball playoffs on Saturday. Do you want to come? Daddy said we can go to Chuck E Cheese afterwards!"

"I would love to come." Angela said, smiling.

"You too, Dr. Jack? And you Dr. Zach?" Parker said.

"Of course buddy." Hodgins replied. Zach nodded his head in agreement.

"Dr. Brennan…" Dr. Goodman said, coming up to the platform. "I have a question about your latest identification. Maybe we could.."

Parker interrupted him. "Dr. Goodman! Do you want to come to my baseball game on Saturday? Daddy said that you could bring your two little girls and we could play at Chuck E Cheese's even if they are girls."

"Well.." Dr. Goodman replied. "That would…That would be nice."

"Okay, bub, we have to go or we are going to be late." Booth said. "If everyone doesn't mind then we can meet here on Saturday. It's easier than giving instructions."

"What time?" Zach asked.

"8 o'clock." He replied.

"In the morning?" Angela asked.

"Yep. You already agreed Angela!" he said laughing.

"Okay, let's go!" he said, walking down the stairs.

"Oh, um, Dr. Goodman.." she started.

"It's okay, Dr. Brennan." Goodman said. "We will talk about it tomorrow."

She smiled then turned and followed Booth and Parker out the door.

She sat on the bleachers, watching Parker take his turn at bat. Booth was down talking to the coach about something. Parker swung at the ball and hit it and started running around the bases.

"Go Parker!" she yelled as she started to clap.

"Hey Bones, calm down it's just a practice." Booth said, coming up and sitting next to her.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"Well it's just that you get a little overenthusiastic." He said grinning.

"I can't help it if Parker's the best." She said, grinning back.

"You are a little biased you know." He said.

"Children need encouragement in order to properly develop..." She was cut off by his lips on hers. She reached up and ran her hands through his hair. The sound of cheering made them break apart. Parker had just scored a home run. They both clapped for him loudly.

"So Angela said that we are supposed to do something because it's our six month anniversary." She said.

"She did, did she?" he asked.

"Personally I think it's a little ridiculous, but having never done this before I could be wrong. Are we supposed to be doing something? Was I supposed to get you a present?" she asked, looking anxious.

"No. Not at all." He replied. "That's just Angela. To be honest I didn't even know."

"Good. Me either." She said. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. They sat and watched the rest of Parker's baseball practice.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Glad everyone's liking it! Here's the next chapter!**

She looked over at him and smiled. When they arrived at the Jeffersonian this morning, he immediately headed to the couch in her office and fell asleep. She glanced at her watch. It was ten to eight, the others would be arriving soon for Parker's baseball game. She pulled up her email and started checking it. She was looking forward to today. It was the first time that everyone had done something all together that wasn't work related in a while. All of them said they were coming except for Cam. She had asked her earlier in the week, but Cam had declined. Even though her relationship with Cam was getting better, there was still a little awkwardness there.

She thought back to several days ago, the day of her six month anniversary, according to Angela. While neither her or Booth remembered, they definitely ended up celebrating it. Her cheeks flushed red as she thought about it. Six months into this relationship and her desire for him had not lessened at all.

"Sweetie?" she heard Angela call. She left Booth where he was and headed out the platform.

"Hey Ange." She replied. Hodgins and Zach were coming up the stairs, arguing about something.

"Hi Dr. Brennan." Zach said, breaking away from his argument with Hodgins.

"Hi." She replied. "I guess we are waiting for Dr. Goodman and his family and then we can go."

"Where's Booth?" Angela said. "And Parker?"

"Booth is sound asleep in my office and Parker is with his mom." She replied. "We will meet them there."

"It seems weird that we are all here and not working." Hodgins said. "And we are in normal clothes."

"Good morning everyone." Dr. Goodman said, coming towards them, with a woman and two little girls in tow. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

"Definitely weird." Hodgins muttered.

"This is my wife, Karen." Goodman said. "And these are my two little girls, Amanda and Megan."

"Nice to meet you." She said, shaking Karen's hand. "It's nice to meet you two as well." She said, bending down and shaking the girls' hands. "Let me go wake Booth and then we can go." She headed back to her office as she heard the others introduce themselves.

"Booth, hey Booth wake up!" She said, nudging him with her hand. He just groaned and rolled over on his side.

She leaned over until she was hovering by his ear and said in her sexiest voice, "Seeeeley."

His eyes immediately snapped open and he turned to look at her. He realized they were in her office and he groaned in frustration.

"That's not fair." He said, reaching up and stroking her cheek.

"Well, you were asleep and you wouldn't wake up." She replied. "Now get up, everyone is waiting."

"Fine." He replied, sitting up. He moved closer to her and pressed his lips against hers. After a few seconds, she pulled apart.

"No time." She said, grinning as she moved away and headed out the door. He groaned again and followed her.

"So are we ready to go?" Hodgins asked.

"Absolutely." Booth replied. "Do you want to follow us in your cars?"

"Sounds good, Agent Booth." Goodman said.

"Okay, well at some point I am going to stop at a drive through to get coffee if that's okay." He said.

"Oh, more than okay." Angela said.

"So let's go." He said, grabbing Temperance around the waist and pulling her closer. "You know you are going to be the hottest soccer mom there."

"But it's baseball." She replied, looking confused.

"It's just an express….never mind." He said, laughing. "Let's go."

They reached the baseball diamonds and started looking for some seats.

"I'm going to go find Rebecca." He said. "Save me a spot."

"Okay." She replied.

"Oh and guys?" he said, addressed the squints and Dr. Goodman. "Make sure she doesn't cheer too loud. She tends to get aggressive."

"I do not!" she pouted.

"Yes you do." He replied, dropping a kiss on her forehead. "But don't worry, I love it. It's cute." With that, he strode off to find Parker.

They found some seats and settled in, drinking their coffees and eating their muffins.

"Can I just say, you two are cute together." Angela said.

"Angela…" she started.

"I can't help it, sweetie." Angela replied. "I love seeing you two out of the lab. You are much more relaxed."

"Look there's Parker." Hodgins piped up.

She looked over and saw Parker running on to the diamond with the rest of his friends. Booth was near the dugout, talking to Rebecca and Drew. She waved at Parker and he waved back.

"That's Parker?" Karen asked.

"Yep, that's him." She replied. She could see Parker running towards the bleachers. He came up to where they were sitting.

"Hi everyone!" Parker said, excitingly.

"Hi Parker." They all chorused back.

"Parker, these are my two daughters, Amanda and Megan." Goodman said.

"Hi!" Parker said. "We are going to Chuck E Cheese, later are you coming?"

"Yeah!" the little girls shouted. Parker moved over to where she was.

"Hi Dr. Bones." Parker said, giving her a big hug.

"Hi Parker." She replied, hugging him back.

"Hey Parker." Booth said, coming up the bleachers. "What are you doing up here?"

"I was just saying hi to Dr. Bones and giving her a hug." Parker replied.

"Oh, okay then." He said, grinning. "You should get back down there. It's almost time. Good luck, buddy."

"Thanks Daddy!" Parker said, heading back down to where his team was.

Booth came and sat down next to her. They watched as several kids took their turn at bat. Then it was Parker's turn.

"Come on Parker." She yelled loudly. She noticed the look on everyone's faces.

"What?" she asked.

"Okay now I get it." Angela said to Booth.

"That was nothing, it gets worse." He replied, grinning.

"Listen just because I want to cheer on Parker…" she started.

"Yes I know, encouraging children, developing, blah, blah." He said. They watched as Parker swung and missed.

"Uhh..." she said.

He took his second swing and hit the ball which went flying.

"Go Parker!" she shouted again, standing up as he rounded the bases.

The others were clapping and cheering. He rounded third and was heading home. He hit the home plate and she let out another loud cheer and sat down. Parker looked over and waved before he sat down on the bench.

"So how long is the game?" Hodgins asked.

"About an hour, maybe less." Booth replied. "They are pretty little so it's not that intense, And both teams get trophies at the end, it's really good."

The continued watching the game, cheering on Parker when he caught a ball or was up to bat. Dr. Goodman, Angela, Hodgins and Zach were all astonished by how into the game Brennan got. She clearly did not see the dirty looks she was getting from the other moms who were watching.

"So after the game I have to go talk to Rebecca for a minute." Booth said to her.

"What about?" she replied.

"I don't know. I went over to say hi and she said she needed to talk to me after the game." He said. "She wouldn't tell me what it was about."

"You are not worried are you?" she asked. "Because you've had a good relationship in the last while."

"I know, but what if she got a job and had to move or something?" he replied. "I'm just a little concerned."

"I'm sure it will be fine Seeley." She said, linking her arm through his and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah." He said. "Yeah you are right."


	3. Chapter 3

They watched as Parker's game came to a close. His team had won, which had caused Brennan to cheer extremely loudly. Both teams were on the field receiving their trophies and running around like crazy.

"Well, we should go see Parker." Booth said, standing up. Everyone headed off the bleachers and down to the field.

"Did you see me, Daddy? Did ya?" Parker said, running over to Booth and jumping into his arms.

"I did, bub." He said. "You were fantastic!"

Parker squirmed out of his arms and ran over to her. "Dr. Bones, we won!" Parker said.

"You were great Parker." She said, leaning down and giving him a hug.

"See my trophy?" Parker replied.

"It's excellent Parker." Zach said.

"Yes, good job sweetie!" Angela said. Everyone else echoed their sentiments.

Parker turned to Amanda and Megan. "Do you wanna go play?"

"Yeah!" They replied in unison.

"Can we daddy?" Amanda asked.

"Yes of course." Goodman replied.

"Stay on the diamond." Booth said.

"Okay daddy." Parker said, running off with the two girls.

"I will be right back, I have to go talk to Rebecca." He said. She reached over and squeezed his hand. He squeezed back and let go, walking towards where Rebecca and Drew were standing.

"So what's going on sweetie?" Angela said.

"What do you mean?" she replied.

"Because you are staring at Booth talking to Rebecca and I heard him say something earlier about her having something important to say." Angela said.

"I don't know what's going on." She said, turning to Angela. "I just hope it's not bad. Booth wouldn't be able to take it."

"Maybe it's something good." Karen said.

"That's true." Goodman said. "You don't want to be unnecessarily worrying."

"I can't help it." She said. She watched Booth talking to Rebecca, gesturing with his hands. She couldn't tell from where she was standing whether it was good or bad.

"Dr. Bones?"

She turned and saw Parker standing there.

"Yes, Parker?" she said.

"Come play with us! We are running the bases!" Parker said.

She smiled as she looked over and saw the two girls furiously running the bases.

"Okay." She replied. "Hodgins is good at running the bases too."

"Yeah, come on Dr. Jack. Come play!" Parker said.

"Thanks a lot!" Hodgins replied.

They all made their way to the diamond where the girls were still running around the bases.

"So what is the object of this game?" Angela asked.

"To run around the bases as fast as you can." Parker replied. "1, 2, 3, go!" he shouted and took off running. Immediately Zach and Hodgins starting running as well. Angela, Goodman and Karen just stood there looking amused.

"Come on, Dr. Bones!" Parker shouted at her from second base.

She started running the bases trying to catch up to Parker. Zach and Hodgins were trying to beat each other around the bases. Amanda and Megan got to home first, followed by Parker, Hodgins and then Zach who was in the lead until Hodgins tripped him. She followed behind.

"You can't catch me Dr. Bones!" Parker said, running into the middle of the diamond.

"Oh yeah?" she replied, running after him. She let him get a head start and then caught up to him, scooping him up in the air and tickling him.

"No, Dr. Bones!" Parker said, giggling. "No tickling!" She let him go and he started running back to the bench where the others were.

She stood on the pitcher's mound to catch her breath and looked over and saw Booth giving Rebecca a hug. 'It can't be that bad.' She thought to herself. Suddenly he was running towards her with a grin on his face.

"What?" she said, as he came closer. She noticed that he had tears in his eyes. "Seeley, what is it?"

He stopped in front of her and said two words that she didn't think she would ever hear.

"Joint custody." He said, trying to catch his breath.

"What?" she replied, stunned.

"Rebecca's giving me joint custody." He replied, tears slipping down his face.

She pulled him into a hug, feeling the tears well up in her eyes as well. Rebecca was giving him joint custody. It was something that she knew he wanted but had never dared to hope for.

"I'm so happy for you." She said.

He pulled away from her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Happy for us, Temperance." He said, eyes glistening. "Happy for us." He leaned down and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. A minute later they parted. She reached up and wiped the tears off his face.

"Does Parker know?" she asked.

"No." he replied. "Rebecca said I could tell him. I just… I just can't believe it's true. I never thought she would, you know."

"I know." She replied, reaching up to caress his cheek.

"We will get to have him some weeknights, I can take him to school and pick him up. We will also get every other weekend." He said, sounding astonished.

"You deserve it." She said emphatically. "You are a great father and it's one of the reasons I love you."

"I love you too Temperance." He said, pulling her into another hug. "Let's go tell Parker."

They headed over to the bleachers where everyone was.

"Where's Parker?" he asked.

"They are playing on the swings over there." Goodman pointed to the small playground.

"What's going on Booth?" Angela said. "What's with the tears?"

"Rebecca is giving me joint custody of Parker." He said, grinning again.

Angela squealed loudly. "Really?" she said, grabbing him and hugging him. "Congratulations!"

"Wow, man, that's awesome." Hodgins said. "Congratulations."

"Congratulations, Agent Booth." Zach said.

"Yes, congratulations." Goodman said. "You must be very excited."

"Thanks." He replied. "I'm going to go tell Parker." He turned and looked at her.

"No, you go." She said. She wanted Booth to have this moment alone with Parker.

"Sweetie, that is so great." Angela said, giving her a hug.

" I know.' She replied, hugging her back. "It's perfect."

She looked over and saw Rebecca heading towards her.

"Excuse me a moment." She said to the others, as she walked towards Rebecca.

"Hi. Dr. Brennan." Rebecca said. "I just wanted to give you Parker's backpack."

"Thanks." She replied. "And thank you. You don't know what this means to Seeley."

Rebecca nodded. "I should have done it a long time ago." She said. "I guess I was just scared for some reason. Like I thought that Seeley would eventually leave or something."

"He doesn't leave the people he loves." She said.

"I know. I know that now." Rebecca replied. "Anyway, here's his backpack. If you want, you can have him until Monday and then take him to school in the morning."

"Really?" she asked. "That would be great. Booth would definitely like that."

"Okay, well we should go." Rebecca said, gesturing to Drew, who was standing by the car.

"We are going to Chuck E Cheese if you would like to come." She said.

"Oh no, that's okay." Rebecca replied, laughing. "I am looking forward to a nice quiet afternoon."

They both looked over to where Parker and Booth were talking.

"Do you want to say goodbye to Parker?" she asked.

"I actually already did, after the game." Rebecca said. "Well, I am sure we will see each other soon."

"Yes." She replied. "Thank you again. And Rebecca? Please, call me Tempe."

Rebecca smiled. "No problem, Tempe." she said as she walked away.

She turned and headed back to the group. Parker and Booth were also making their way there. Parker began running towards her.

"Dr. Bones! Dr. Bones! Guess what?" Parker said, running into her arms. "Daddy said that I get to live with you and him sometimes during the week and some weekends too and we get to spend lots and lots of time together, not like before."

"Wow, that's great!" she said, the tears finally slipping down her face from seeing the look of pure joy in Parker's eyes.

"Why are you crying Dr. Bones?" Parker asked, pulling away from their hug and looking at her.

"Because I am happy." She replied. She looked at Booth who was smiling like mad. "Just because I am happy."

**A/N: Everyone say it together now: Awwww!!!!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Glad you are liking it! Here's the next chapter!**

"Let's go to Chuck E Cheese." Booth said. "I need some pizza!"

"Yeah!" the three kids shouted in unison.

"I am definitely looking forward to skeeball." He said, turning to her. "I just love beating you!"

"Hey!" she replied. "You may have beat me in skeeball, but I beat you in that mole game."

"Mole game?" Hodgins asked.

"Whack a Mole." He replied. "And the only reason you are good at that is because you are aggressive."

"Hey!" she protested, punching him in the arm.

"See what I mean?" he said, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer. "That's why you don't get a gun."

"So," he said, turning to Goodman. "I'm assuming you know the Chuck E Cheese's on ninth?"

"Yes I do." Goodman replied. "We will meet you there."

"You'd better follow us." He said to Angela.

"Okay." She replied.

"Come on Daddy! Come on Dr. Bones!" Parker said, running towards the car.

"Yeah come on, Dr. Bones." He said grinning.

"Don't call me Dr. Bones!" she replied, smiling back at him.

They sat at Chuck E Cheese waiting for the pizza to come.

"Can we go play Daddy?" Parker asked.

"Only if someone goes with you." he replied.

"We will take them." Hodgins said. "C'mon Zach." Hodgins reached for Parker's hand and Zach held on to the girls and they headed off to the games.

"So what do you do?" Angela asked Karen.

"I work in HR at Washington Mutual." Karen replied. "I do personnel stuff, hiring, firing, etc. Not nearly as exciting as all of your jobs."

"Don't worry." Angela said. "Having a normal job definitely has it's perks. You don't have to smell dead bodies for one thing."

The pizza and drinks arrived and Booth motioned at Hodgins to bring the kids over. They each had a bucket in their hands.

"Daddy! Look how many tokens Dr. Jack gave us!" Parker said, coming to sit in between him and Brennan.

He peered into the bucket, which was about half full.

"Hodgins, you didn't have to do that. I could have…"

"Don't worry about it man." Hodgins replied.

"Well I will reimburse you for the girls tokens." Goodman said.

"No it's okay." Hodgins said. "It's my treat. So let's dig in." he said, trying to change the subject. Dr. Goodman was still unaware about Hodgin's financial circumstances.

"So what games did you play?" Booth asked.

"We played the fishing game." Amanda said.

"And the dance one." Megan added.

"And Dr. Zach beat Dr. Jack at skeeball." Parker piped up.

"It was a fluke." Hodgins said.

"Wait till I get out there." Booth said. He watched as Temperance blew on Parker's pizza, making it cool enough for him to eat. He loved watching her with him. The two of them had a strong bond, punctuated by secrets about science and giggles over her lack of kid knowledge. He felt his heart swell when he thought about them. They were his. And this made him happy.

Everyone finished their pizza and headed to the coin machine to get coins.

"Let's play skeeball, Daddy!" Parker said.

"You got it bub!" he replied. "Let's go, Temperance. Time for me to kick your butt!"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the skeeball game. The others followed close behind.

"Okay, here we go." He said, putting his coins in the machine. She did the same beside him and Parker, Angela and Jack lined up as well. Immediately Booth got 100 points while she only got 10. They continued playing furiously. Angela and Jack were trying to beat each other but Angela's aim wasn't that great. Parker was doing okay but was mostly laughing at her and Booth, who were engaged in a full on skeeball battle.

She went to roll her ball and he leaned over and nudged her.

"Hey that's cheating!" she said, as her ball went in the zero pocket.

"All's fair baby!" he replied, laughing as his ball hit the 100 pocket again.

She rolled her last ball, which landed in the fifty pocket. She turned and watched as he got ready to roll his last ball. Just before he let go of it, she sidled up to him, put her hand around his waist and breathed into his ear. He lost the grip on the ball and it ended up in the zero pocket.

"No fair!" he said, smiling.

"All's fair!" she said laughing. They each got their tickets out of the machines. Booth was right, he did win by a lot.

"I have an idea." He said. "Why don't we put everyone's tickets together and then you three can split them equally to get your prize. Sound good?"

"Okay." The three kids said.

"Excellent idea, Agent Booth." Goodman replied.

"Okay, I will be the ticket holder." He said. "So pass them over."

Everyone handed him their tickets and headed off to play the next game. They eventually split up, Angela dragging Hodgins off to some basketball game she said was her favourite and Parker, Amanda and Megan running around with a promise from Goodman to keep an eye on them.

They turned around and suddenly they were by themselves. He grabbed her hand and led her back to the table.

"So?" she said.

"I love you." He replied.

"That was random." She said, grinning.

"That's how it's going to be for the rest of our lives." He said, honestly.

"I know." She said softly.

They sat for a few minutes in silence.

"So what happens now?" she asked. "With the joint custody, I mean."

"I have to call the lawyer." He replied. "And then we take it in front of a judge and it gets settled there. Since Rebecca's not contesting, it should be pretty easy."

"This is good you know." She said. "For Parker to see that you two are getting along."

"Yeah, I know." He said. "I feel.. I feel like it is unreal. I am happy but at the same time, why couldn't she have seen this sooner? Given this to me sooner?"

"She said she thought you would leave." She said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes." She replied. "I said you didn't leave the people you love."

"Hmm, well that's true." He replied.

"I know it is." She said, moving closer and brushing her lips against his.

They heard Parker laughing and looked over and saw him trying to win a racing game, Amanda and Megan cheering him on.

"I like this." He said. "Goodman and the squints coming and seeing us."

"I don't understand." She said. "They always see us."

"Yes, but they always see work us, Temperance." He replied. "Not family us. That's a different thing entirely."

"I suppose it is." She replied, leaning into his chest. They sat for a few more minutes.

"Okay, enough of this." He said. "Let's go play whack a mole!"

"Yes!" she said, excitedly. She grabbed his hand and they made their way to where everyone was.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello to everyone! Thanks for reading this story, I hope you're enjoying it! I love everyone's reaction to Brennan as a soccer mom! And I love Whack A Mole, its one of my favs!**

Several hours later, everyone sat at the table, watching the three kids count the massive piles of tickets they had received. Booth had beat everyone at skeeball and true to her word, Brennan dominated at Whack a Mole. Zach kept beating Hodgins at several games by determining the mathematical possibilities of how to win. Angela proved to be surprisingly good at the basketball game. The afternoon had been full of laughter and fun.

She watched them count their tickets slowly, realizing that someone was going to have to speed up the process or they would be here until tomorrow. Luckily, Booth had realized the same thing.

"Hey, why don't you hand me stacks of the tickets and I will count them for you okay?" he said.

"Okay, Mr. Booth!" Amanda said. Everyone found it highly amusing that the two girls called him that.

After the tickets were counted, Booth and Hodgins took the three kids over to the prize counter to pick out their prizes.

"I wanted to say thank you for inviting us." Goodman said to her. "It was an excellent day, the girls will not forget it for awhile."

"Thank you for coming." She replied. "Parker had a great time, especially with everyone here."

"You suit this life, you know." Goodman said. "And I am happy for you Temperance."

"Thank you, Dr. Goodman." She said.

"Does this mean that you will be working less hours in the lab?" he asked.

"Oh well, I wouldn't let anything compromise my work." She said anxiously.

"No, you misunderstand me." Goodman replied. "I would certainly hope you would be working less hours in the lab. And any time you need off in any circumstance, just let me know. I think you have about a year's worth of accrued vacation from all of the overtime you put in."

"Thank you." She said. "It means a lot."

"So is it all legal wranglings now?" Angela asked.

"Yes, although Booth said it shouldn't be a long process." She said. "I guess it just depends when we can get a court date."

She saw the kids heading back with prizes in their arms.

"Look, Dr. Bones!" Parker said. "I got a bouncing ball and a slinky and these dinosaur pencils."

"Wow that is neat." She replied. "You must have had a lot of tokens."

"Yep we did." Parker said.

"Okay, well we should head out." Booth said, "Since we have been here all afternoon!"

"Daddy, can Amanda and Megan come see my room?" Parker said. "I want to show them my microscope!"

"Yeah, Daddy please!" Amanda and Megan said, jumping up and down.

"Well…" Goodman started.

"We don't mind." She spoke up, looking at Booth for confirmation.

"Please!!!" the kids said in unison.

"How can you argue with that?" Angela said laughing.

"If it's okay with you two, then its fine with us." Karen said.

"It's okay with us." Booth said. "Are you guys going to come as well?" he said, gesturing to the squints.

"Sure." Angela replied. "I haven't been to the apartment in a while."

After several minutes trying to get everyone organized, they were out the door and back to the apartment.

She unlocked the door and walked into the apartment, everyone following behind her.

"Here it is." She said, removing her jacket and shoes. Parker, Amanda and Megan pulled off their shoes and jackets and immediately ran down the hall to Parker's room.

"Come in." she gestured to the others. She took their coats and hung them on the coat rack.

"Does anyone want anything to drink? Glass of wine?" Booth asked.

"I would love a glass of wine." Goodman replied. Everyone except Zach agreed.

"I will throw some appetizers in the oven." Booth said. "I don't know about you, but that pizza didn't cut it for me."

"Mmmm…food." Hodgins said. "Sounds good."

"I love your apartment." Karen said.

"Thank you." She replied. "Would you like to look around?"

"Absolutely." Karen said. "I love taking tours of people's homes!"

Booth came out the kitchen and started passing the wine around.

"I wouldn't mind taking the tour as well." Goodman said.

"Me too!" Angela piped up.

"Angela, you have been here before." She said.

"I know, but I want to see it again." Angela replied.

"Okay, well this is the living room." She said, gesturing to the room they were in. Karen walked to the far wall that displayed a wide variety of pictures.

"I like your pictures." Karen said.

"Thank you." She replied, smiling. She remembered how as soon as they had gotten home from his parent's house that first visit, he had started hanging pictures on the wall. Their own picture wall, he had said. There were tons of pictures of Parker, as well as the three of them on various activities. But there were a few of the two of them being unabashedly romantic. There were some pictures of Booth when he was young and she had pulled the pictures of her out of her parent's file and put them on the wall as well.

They moved into the kitchen, where Booth was putting food in the oven.

"This obviously is the kitchen." She said.

"I can see Parker likes to draw." Goodman said, noting how the fridge was covered with drawings.

"Between that and the science, he's practically squint." Booth said, laughing.

She glowered at him and led them out of the kitchen and into their bedroom.

"Sorry if it's a bit messy." She said, opening the door. "This is our bedroom." There was a large bed in the middle of the room with two end tables on either side, both had several cups of half drunk coffee on them. There was also two bookcases filled with books.

"You have a lot of books." Karen said.

"Umm, well this is only about a third of them." She replied. "The rest are in the office."

"This painting is very interesting." Goodman said, pointing to the painting on one of the walls.

"Angela did it." She said.

"Excellent work, Miss Montenegro." Goodman said.

"Thank you." Angela replied. "I forgot you had that one."

"All of the paintings in the apartment are by Angela." She said. She walked over to the closet and opened it. "We have a walk in closet, which is good."

Hodgins, who had joined the tour at this point, peered inside.

"Geez dude." He shouted to Booth. "You have almost as many clothes as Brennan."

"Hey, gotta look my best." Booth replied, sticking his head in the door.

"Exactly how many ties do you have?" Angela asked.

"Lost count." He replied seriously, heading back to the kitchen.

"Moving on.." she said, leading them out of the bedroom and down the hall. "This is the bathroom." She said, opening the door. "We actually have an en suite bathroom, sorry I didn't show you that." At the end of the hall there were two doors, one had large amounts of giggling coming out of it.

"This is the office." She said, opening the door on the right. There were two desks and three bookcases squeezed into the room. Both the desks were covered in paper, and there were post it notes stuck everywhere.

"Cool." Hodgins said, pushing his way into the room towards the desk. "Is this your new book?" He gestured towards the post its.

"Yes." She replied. "And no you can't read it, so stop looking."

She moved out of the office and opened the door on the left. "This is Parker's room." She said.

The three kids were looking at something in the microscope and giggling.

"I love this room." Angela said.

"Yeah me too." She replied.

"Dr. Jack, we are looking at a bug and I forget what it's called." Parker said. The others headed back to the living room while Hodgins started a full-blown entomology lesson.

* * *

They were sitting on the couch. Everyone was gone and Parker was in bed. Everyone ended up staying for dinner and there were vigorous toasts all around congratulating Booth on him getting joint custody. She sighed as he stroked her hair, her head on his chest and her arm wrapped around his waist.

"This was a good day." She said.

"Yes." He replied, tears in his eyes. He squeezed her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You make all of my days good."

"You do too." She replied, yawning. They got up off the couch and headed to bed. After changing, they got into bed, him immediately putting his arms around her waist and nuzzling his nose in her hair. She smiled and they both drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Glad you are liking the story!**

"So…how was your day?" Booth asked. They were sitting in Wong Foo's waiting for Sid to bring them their food.

"You were with me all day." She replied. "You know how my day was. Besides I don't think you want to ask me about my day. What's going on?"

"Well…its…" he trailed off.

"You're nervous." She stated. "I don't like when you get nervous. Are you going undercover again?" She was becoming agitated.

"I am nervous." He replied, reaching out and stroking her hand. "But it's good, I promise." He took a deep breath and went for it. "I was…I was wondering if you would consider becoming Parker's mom."

"What?" she said, looking stunned.

"What I mean to say is you would be Parker's second mom. You would have legal guardianship." He said, still looking nervous.

"You want me to be Parker's mom?" she asked.

"Yes I do." He replied looking serious.

"Do you think I can?" she asked.

"Be a mom?" he said. "You already are one. Just without the title." He reached over and squeezed her hand.

"Thanks." She replied, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. "And yes."

It was his turn to look a little stunned. "Really?" he asked.

"Really." She replied, her eyes shining.

He scooted across the booth and immediately pressed his lips against hers, running his fingers through the coils of her hair. As he reached for her waist to pull her closer, she reached up and placed her hands on the side of his face.

"Hey you two, you are still in my restaurant." Sid said, coming up to them with plates of food in his hand. They broke apart, looking guilty and breathless from the kiss.

"Sorry Sid." Booth said, moving back to his side.

"It's okay G-man." Sid replied, handing them their food. "If I was in your position I'd do the same thing. Enjoy!" He moved away to serve another table.

"So..." Brennan started, pausing to take a massive bite of noodles. "What about Rebecca? Is she okay with this?"

"Yes, she is." He replied. "I went and talked to her this morning after I dropped you off at the lab. She was wondering when it was going to happen."

"I hope she's okay. I don't want her to feel like we are taking Parker away." She said. "She's his real mom."

"She doesn't." he replied. "We had a long talk and sorted things out. We vowed to be happy for each other."

"What about Drew?" she asked. "Is he going to..?"

"No." he said. "He wants to work things out with his own son first."

"That sounds reasonable." She said. "So what happens now?"

"You will sign the guardianship papers as well as the joint custody papers and then we go in front of a judge." He said. "Rebecca said that we could start the arrangement whenever, so we need to figure out a schedule."

"The schedule will change depending on whether we have a case won't it?" she asked.

"For Parker, I think it should be the same all of the time. On days we have to work, we can get Hodgins and Angela to watch him or he can come to the lab or we can get a babysitter." He replied.

"That could work." She said, picturing it in her head. She looked over to see him grinning madly. "What?"

"Us." He replied. "Three days ago, I didn't think I would be seeing Parker for a few weeks and now we are sitting here planning what days in the week we get him. What days in EVERY week."

"I know." She said, reaching across and grabbing his hands, threading her fingers through his.

"It's just that…I get to be more than an occasional father." He said. "I don't know how….it's overwhelming."

"You can do it." She replied. "Listen, Seeley… are you sure? About me I mean. Because I don't know cartoon characters and I can't bake cupcakes and I don't know how to do that mom stuff."

"Every mom is different and Parker doesn't care whether you know who Spongebob is or not." He replied.

"He's the one that lives in a pineapple right?" she said.

He chuckled. "See you know what you are talking about." He noted the serious expression on her face. "What? Temperance what is it?"

She sighed. "It's just that my mom was that kind of mom who knew all of the cartoons and baked and stuff and I just wish….I wish she was here so she could show me how to do it." A tear slipped down her cheek unnoticed.

He moved next to her and brushed the tear away. "I wish I could have met her." He said. "It would have been great to meet the woman who produced such an extraordinary person."

"Seeley…" she started.

"No, it's true." He interrupted her. "It's true." He pulled her into a hug.

She closed her eyes and let herself melt into the arms of the man she loved.

"You will be great Bones." He said, stroking her hair. "Don't doubt it for a second."

"Okay." She replied.

"I love you Temperance." He said, kissing the top of her head. She pulled away and looked at him.

"Thank you for all this." She replied, running her hand along his jaw.

"I should be thanking you." He said.

"Hmm…" she said. "I think I know of a way we can thank each other." She gave him a sexy smile.

"Hey Sid!" he shouted to the bar owner. "Can we get the bill?"

"Hi Angela!" Parker said, standing on the steps of the lab. "Can you let me in?"

"Of course." Angela replied, swiping her card and letting the excitable six year old in. "Where's your dad?"

"He's talking on the phone." Parker said, pointing to Booth who was walking back and forth in front of the lab.

"Okay." Angela said. She noticed that Parker was holding something. "What have you got there Parker?"

"It's a picture." Parker replied.

"Ooh, can I see?" Angela asked.

"Not yet, Angela. I want to show my mom first." Parker said.

"Oh, well I don't think Rebecca is here, sweetie." Angela replied. At this moment, Brennan came around the corner, followed closely by Zach and Hodgins.

"MOM!" Parker said, running towards her with the picture in his hands.

Angela noted the stunned look on Brennan's face before she scooped up Parker and gave him a big hug, a smile breaking over her face. Behind her, Zach and Hodgins looked on in disbelief.

"I drew you a picture." Parker said. "It's me and you and Daddy."

"It's great." She said, looking at the picture. "Can I put it in my office?"

"Yep." He replied. "Can I stick it on your door?"

"Absolutely." She replied. Parker pulled away from her and ran towards the office.

Before anyone could say anything, Booth came up the stairs. "What?" he said, looking at the expression on her face.

"He called me Mom." She said, blinking back tears.

"Sorry. I told him I know." He said. "But I just got so excited and..."

"It's okay." She replied, brushing the tears from her lashes. "It's better than okay."

"So does someone want to explain what's going on?" Angela said, tapping her foot impatiently.

"What's going on?" Cam said, coming up on the platform.

"Bones is going to become Parker's second mom." He said. "Officially she will be his legal guardian."

Angela squealed loudly. "Oh my god!" she said, running over and hugging her. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Ange." She replied.

"Wow, Dr. Brennan." Zach said. "That's great."

Hodgins came over and gave her a hug as well. "Congrats."

"That's.." Cam said. "That's great."

"Yeah, it is." She replied. She looked over at Booth. Neither of them could stop grinning.

"When exactly did this happen?" Angela asked. "Because we saw you on Saturday and it's only Tuesday."

"Last night." she replied. "Obviously it's not official, we still have to do the legal stuff."

"I am meeting with the lawyer tomorrow." Booth said. "So are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Not yet. I have to finish examining these remains and finish a report for Dr. Goodman." She said.

"Okay, well Parker and I will go wander around the museum and come back and get you. Sounds good?" he said.

"Sound's great." She replied.

Booth went and got Parker out of her office and they headed off to see the dinosaurs. Angela came over and gave her another quick hug and then headed back to work. She was finishing up the remains when Dr. Goodman arrived.

"Dr. Brennan." He said. "I met Angela in the hall and she said you might have some news for me."

She smiled. "Yes, Booth asked me to be Parker's legal guardian." She said. "His second mom."

A huge grin came upon Dr. Goodman's face. "Congratulations, Dr. Brennan." He said.

"Thank you." She replied.

"You will make an excellent mother." He said.

"I guess." She said. She still wasn't sure about how good she would be.

"Oh you definitely will." Goodman said. "Children like to be told the truth and you do that. Parker has an aptitude for science, which means that you have much in common with him, as you already know. You have the ability to be a great mother."

"Thank you." She said emphatically.

"I assuming Agent Booth and Parker are around here somewhere." Goodman said.

"Yes they are in the museum waiting for me to finish." She replied.

"It's after six, you should go." Goodman said.

"I still have to write that report for you." She said.

"You can have it to me tomorrow." Goodman replied. "Have a good night."

"Thank you." She replied as she watched him walk off. She headed to her office to grab her things, pausing at the door to look at the picture that Parker had stuck there. It was three stick figures, two of them taller then the other. One of them was holding a badge and the other was holding a bone. In between them was the smaller figure, with curly yellow hair. There were smiling faces on each of the figures and underneath it was written: Daddy, me, Mom. She smiled, grabbed her things and headed off to find her partner and their son.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Here we go! Second last chapter! I'm glad everyone's liking the story! So today is the six month anniversary of my message board, the ABY! Very exciting! If you love to chat about Bones, come on over and check us out! The link is in my profile! Thanks for all the reviews!**

She opened her eyes and looked over at her bed mate. He was sprawled across the bed as usual, his arm wrapped around her waist protectively. His hair was sticking up in all different directions, definitely different from the smooth look he had during the rest of the day. She smiled as she thought for the thousandth time how different he was here, with her in their home, from the totally in control, suave FBI agent persona he presented everyone with during the day.

She was always up before him, her mind not allowing her body more than six or seven hours of sleep per night. She slowly extracted herself from him and made her way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, her feet padding across the floor. She turned on the kettle and waited for the water to boil. She opened the cupboard, grabbed a mug and a teabag and leaned against the counter.

Usually after her tea was done, she would head to her desk to get a couple chapters done or she would read the latest article in the forensic anthropology journal. Today was different. She had no desire to read about the latest techniques and she knew she wouldn't get a word written.

She looked around the kitchen and marvelled once again at the changes present. This time last year she had been here all alone. She had gone through her morning routine without him, she hadn't concerned herself over things like homework and the latest toys. Now there were pictures stuck everywhere, new kinds of food in the cupboards, his appliances merged with hers.

The kettle whistled and she poured herself a cup of tea and headed into the living room. Sitting on the couch she pondered the changes in here as well. Toys piled in the corner, pictures covering the large wall, it was different. She reached over and grabbed the photo album off the bottom shelf of her bookcase. A year ago, she barely had any photos at all, now she had an album of them. She opened it up and immediately smiled at the picture of Seeley staring back at her. She briefly looked over at the time and realized that she would be halfway through her morning routine by now. But today was different.

She stroked the picture and thought of Booth sleeping in the next room. How he had waited for her for two years. Waited until she was ready, never losing faith that she would be his. How he had put up with all of her idiosyncrasies and problems. How he hugged her when she got scared. Let her pour out her insecurities and fears. Was willing to let her share in his son's life. She took a last sip of her tea and headed back into the bedroom.

She looked at him still sleeping and she smiled. She was not alone and although once that scared her, now she could barely remember how she had done it. Lived her life in this apartment alone, without him. She grabbed a towel and headed into the bathroom to get ready. She looked in the mirror and wondered if she looked different today. If people could see it in her face. Angela had told her she could, but then Angela was incredibly perceptive. She looked at her reflection and briefly wondered what she had done to deserve this. This beautiful life that she was now living.

Usually she would be in and out of the shower in ten minutes, but today was different. She gave herself time, shampooing her hair slowly. She wondered what was going to happen at the lab today. She loved working at the Jeffersonian, there were so many challenges for her. But she still couldn't recall what it was like before he was there. On any other day, she would have been there by now, poring over some skeletal remains, trying to find the mystery as to why they died. She would be in the lab soon, but not all day. She couldn't remember the last time she did a half day at work.

She stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. She headed back into the bedroom where Seeley was still sleeping. She reached for the clothes that she had laid out the night before. She usually didn't do that, preferring to choose quickly in the morning. But today was different. She got dressed and reached for her jewellery box.

She loved jewellery. Just like Booth's flashy ties and striped socks, she felt her jewellery showed people who she was. Every piece was personal, each one had a story, but none more so then the copper pendant earrings and matching necklace that she picked out. The earrings were her mothers and she found that she wore them on days when she wished her mom was there to give her guidance. It was psychology, she knew but it still gave her a feeling of comfort. The necklace Booth had given her for Christmas, having tracked down the original jeweller of the earrings and had a matching pendant made. She reached for it and placed it around her neck.

That had been the day it had all started between them. The gift exchange. A smile crossed her lips as she recalled the tree and the skating and finally the kiss in the snow. One day that changed everything. Today was one of those days.

She went back to the bathroom and did her hair. She usually tied it up because she didn't like it in her face when she was working, but today she decided to leave it down and left it wavy, instead of straightening it. She did her makeup and stepped back to look at herself. She nervously ran her hands over the suit that she was wearing. She didn't notice that he had woken up and was behind her.

"You look like a mom." He said, reading her thoughts. Her head snapped up and she saw him standing behind her smiling softly. He moved closer and reached for her waist, pulling him closer to him. They both looked at their reflection in the mirror smiling.

Yes, today was different. Today was the day she was going to be a mom.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: The last chapter! Boo hoo! Don't worry, there's one story left. It's called To Have and To Hold (hmm….I wonder what happens in that one!) I will be posting it right after this chapter! Thank you so much for all the reviews!**

It was over in less than an hour. As they walked out of the courtroom, she suppressed the urge to wrap her arms around his neck. They were in the courthouse after all.

Booth broke the silence. "We are going to Wong Foo's if you would like to come." He said to Rebecca and Drew.

"Oh no that's okay." Rebecca replied. "You go and celebrate."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You are more than welcome."

"Definitely." Rebecca replied.

"Daddy, we're going to Wong Foos?" Parker asked, jumping up and down.

"Yep." He replied.

"Hooray!" Parker shouted, causing all the adults to laugh.

"Well we should get going." He said. "They are waiting for us."

"Who's waiting for us?" she asked.

"Who do you think?" he said grinning. He turned to Rebecca. "So we will drop him off at school tomorrow and then he's back with us on Friday, right?"

"Right." Rebecca replied.

"Thank you Rebecca." He said, giving her a hug.

"Thank you Seeley,." Rebecca replied. "For everything. You didn't deserve.."

"It's okay." He interrupted.

"Bye Mommy!" Parker said, giving Rebecca a hug.

"Bye sweetie!" she replied.

Parker said goodbye to Drew then grabbed both of their hands and they walked out. When they reached the car she put Parker in his seat and as she went to get into her own, Booth stopped her.

"What?" she asked.

"I don't know." He replied grinning. "I just figured that now we are in the parking lot we could do a happy dance or something."

"I am not going to dance with you in the parking lot of the federal courthouse Booth." She said.

"So you think." He replied, as he grabbed her, spun her and then dipped her, kissing her on the lips as he did. He pulled her back up and broke the kiss.

"You are incorrigible." She said, panting slightly.

"You know it baby." He smirked as he headed around to his side of the car. She shot him a glare and got in the car.

"So how did you know that everyone was going to be at Wong Foo's?" she asked as they headed off.

"When I came by the lab last night to pick you up, Angela told me that we had to go to Wong Foo's after court." He replied. "She looked all secretive and giggly."

"That's Angela." She said laughing.

"What's so funny?" Parker piped up from the backseat.

"Nothing bub." He said. "By the way, you were a good boy in court today. You sat very still just like I said."

"Thanks daddy." Parker replied. "I wanted to sit very still so that the man could say that Mom could be my other mommy."

She smiled as she looked in the rear view mirror and saw the earnest look on Parker's face. "Well I think that's what made him decide." She said.

"Alright, here we are." He said as he pulled into the parking lot of Wong Foo's. "Ready?" he said.

"Yeah." She replied smiling. They unbuckled Parker and headed inside. As soon as they walked in the restaurant, a cheer erupted. There in the middle of Wong Foo's were Sid, Angela, Zach, Hodgins, and Cam along with Dr. Goodman, his wife and two little girls and Cullen and his wife Laura. There were streamers everywhere and a big sign that said congratulations. She was overwhelmed. When Booth told her that the team was going to be at Wong Foo's she didn't expect something like this.

Angela walked over to them. "Congratulations sweetie." She said, hugging her.

"Thanks Ange." She replied. "You didn't have to do this."

"Hey it's not everyday you become a mom." Angela said. "Come on, sit down."

They made their way to the table, Parker immediately running over and saying hi to Goodman's little girls. Booth shook Cullen's hand and hugged Laura. He had been surprised to see his boss there.

"So I hope this means you won." Hodgins said, once everyone was settled and seated. "Otherwise…"

"Yes we won." Booth replied.

"Technically it wasn't something we won." She started. "It was an uncontested…"

"We won." He said, cutting her off. She shot him a dirty look and smacked him in the arm.

"Ow!" he said. "Jeez, Bones.."

"So Parker.." Angela said, gesturing to him. "Do you want your presents now or later?"

"I get presents?" Parker said, running over to her.

"Yeah, he gets presents?" Booth said.

"Well we decided that since you are letting Brennan be a part of your family, that we would let you be a part of our family." Angela said. "How does that sound?"

"Cool!" Parker replied. Everyone laughed at his excitement. "Can my daddy be apart of your family too?"

"Absolutely." Angela said, looking over at Booth. "If he doesn't mind being in a family of squints."

Booth laughed. "I'd guess I would be okay with it." He said.

"Okay here you go Parker." Angela said, reaching beside her chair and handing him a present.

"Thanks Angela!" Parker said, ripping open the present. He opened the box and pulled out a blue jacket. It was the exact replica of the lab jackets that the squints wore, from the Jeffersonian patch right down to the badge that had a picture of Parker. It also had P. Booth embroidered on it.

"Daddy! Daddy! It's a jacket just like the squints." Parker said, coming over to him. "See?"

"I see." Booth said smiling. "Nice pick Angela."

"It was Zach's idea actually." Angela replied.

"Ha, that figures." He said. Parker meanwhile had put the jacket on and was doing up the buttons.

"See Mom?" he said to her. "Now I can listen to bones like you!"

"You sure can." She replied giving him a hug.

"Okay." Angela said. "There is another present for you. And one for you Booth."

"For me?" he asked.

"Well you are joining our family as well." Angela replied.

He opened the paper, took the lid off the box and immediately began to laugh. "Forensic Anthropology for Dummies?" he said, holding up the book.

Everyone started laughing.

"We are tired of explaining everything to you." Hodgins said grinning.

"Thank you." He replied. He removed the rest of the tissue paper in the box and found a blue lab jacket, just like the one Parker got with his initials, S. Booth. "Okay, for the record, I am never wearing this." He said as he held it up for everyone to see.

"I don't know, Booth." Cullen said. "It might look good on you." Everyone starting laughing again. In the meantime, Parker had opened his present, which was from Zach and Hodgins.

"Clue Jr!!!" Parker said opening the first of two packages.

"I like that game." She said.

"Yeah it's okay." He replied.

"Booth doesn't like it because I always beat him." She announced to everyone at the table. There was laughter all around.

"You let a squint beat you?" Cullen said.

"Its all a lie sir." He replied laughing. "So what else did you get?"

Parker was holding a yellow stone in his hand. "Cool!!!" he said. "What is it Dr. Jack?"

"Come here and I will show you." Hodgins said. Parker went over to him. "This is called amber. It's a substance that comes from a tree. It is liquid but what happens is over time it hardens. Sometimes before it hardens an insect will get caught and then it will harden around it. This one was dug up in Russia and see there is a moth inside. That moth is hundreds and hundreds of years old."

"Really?" Parker said, his eyes wide in astonishment.

"Really." Hodgins replied.

"Thanks Dr. Jack!" he said hugging him. Then he ran over to Zach and hugged him too.

"Daddy can Amanda and Megan and I play Clue?" Parker asked.

"Sure bud, ask Sid if you can set it up in one of the booths." He replied. "Nice present, Hodgins."

"Thanks." Hodgins replied.

"Okay so sweetie, it's now time for your present." Angela said.

"My present?" she replied. "What do you mean?"

"Well you get a 'I'm a new mom' present, didn't you know?" Angela said, trying to look innocent.

"Ange, you didn't have to." She replied as Angela handed her over a square package. She undid the bow and opened it. It was a portrait that Angela painted, much like the one she had given her at Christmas, except this was one of her, Booth and Parker.

"Thanks Ange." She said, turning the picture around for everyone to see.

"That is so sweet." Laura said.

"An excellent likeness, Ms. Montenegro." Goodman said.

"Thank you." Angela replied.

"It's great Angela." He said. "So…I was going to give my present later, but since everyone is in the present opening mood, I think I will give mine now."

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "I didn't get you a present. I didn't know we were supposed to."

"Don't worry." He replied. "Part of it is not new and besides it's a new mom present. Do I look like a new mom to you?" He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little velvet bag with a drawstring. "Here you go." He said, handing it to her.

She opened the bag and pulled out a chain. On it was two dog tags, one a military issue tag, the other in a shape of a bone. She looked closely at the dog tag. "This is your dog tags." She said.

"Yes. Well one of them anyway." He replied. "See I have the other." He reached under his shirt and pulled out a replica of the chain she was holding in her hand.

"See, the dog tag is me and the bone is you." He said. "I have one of each and you have one of each. It means that you are apart of me and I am apart of you."

"It's beautiful." She replied. The simplicity of the gift along with his explanation brought tears to her eyes. She held it out for everyone to see.

"Oh sweetie, that's so pretty." Angela said.

"Yes it definitely suits you." Cullen said.

"What does it say?" Cam asked.

She looked closer and realized that the bone had a word engraved on it. She felt the tears slip down her face. "It says partners." She said softly. She turned in her seat and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you." She whispered into his ear.

"Your welcome." He whispered back.

"So is everyone ready for food?" Sid said, coming to the table.

"Definitely!" Hodgins said.

Sid starting passing out the food and everyone began eating enthusiastically. They stayed well into the night, laughing and talking and sharing crazy stories. Goodman, Karen and the girls had left around 7 and Cullen and Laura and left after that. Cam had left in the last half hour, so now it was just the team.

"Where's Parker?" she asked, looking around.

"Don't worry, he's right there." He replied, pointing to the booth where Parker was fast asleep. "He's worn out from all of the excitement."

"I can see that." She said bemusedly.

"Thanks for all of this, you guys." He said. "It was really great."

"You deserved it dude." Hodgins said. "And you too, Dr. Brennan."

"It was a good day." She replied smiling.

"We should get going." He said. "It is a school night after all."

They got their jackets on and Booth gathered up the presents while she put Parker's coat on, a difficult task because he was sleeping. Then she picked Parker up in arms.

"Thank you." She said to everyone. "Really. You three are… I can't.." she struggled with the words. "You are the best." She said. "So thank you."

"Your welcome." Angela said.

"Hey Sid." Booth said. "What do I owe you?"

"It's on the house G-Man." Sid replied.

"We can't expect you to take care of it all." She protested. "It was too much."

"Are you kidding me?" Sid said. "You two are my best customers. You are the reason this place is still open."

"Thanks Sid." He replied.

"No problem." Sid said.

"Well we should go." He said. "See you at the lab tomorrow."

"Bye!" Angela, Zach and Hodgins chorused.

* * *

They were lying on either side of the bed, Parker squeezed in the middle. He had woken up halfway home and then insisted that he sleep with them in the bed 'just for one time' he said. They had relented and now here they were. Booth had called his parents to let them know of the good news and they were excited that everything had gone well. She reached up and touched her necklace. She didn't think she would ever get tired of touching it or seeing it. She felt his eyes boring into her. Turning her head she looked at him.

"What are you staring at?" she said.

"The most beautiful woman in the world." He replied in all seriousness.

"Seeley.." she said, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks. He was always making her blush.

He reached over and stroked her face. "I love you." He said.

"I love you too." She replied, leaning into his hand. "And thank you for letting me be Parker's mom."

He smiled and began rubbing his thumb against her cheek slowly. She felt her eyes grow heavy and finally she succumbed to sleep. He smiled once more as he looked at his beautiful partner and their son and felt content. 'We will be together forever' was his last coherent thought before drifting off to sleep, his hand still pressed against her cheek.


End file.
